The Westmoreland County Hazardous Materials Response Team 800 was organized in 1980, as a specialized team, to assist the County’s fire departments in response to Hazardous Material incidents. Formed as a volunteer group, the original Team consisted of 15 members from local fire departments and the paid sector within the County. The Team is under the jurisdiction of the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety. The Team currently consists of 70 volunteer members from the fields of Fire, EMS, and law enforcement all over Westmoreland County. The station is located at 108 Vaneer Avenue, in the City of Greensburg. Our station was dedicated on December 28, 1995, to the memory of Assistant Chief John R. “Jack” Fisher, who died in the line of duty on September 28, 1995, while serving with Greensburg Fire Department. Our Team is the sole provider of emergency response to HAZMAT incidents within Westmoreland County. Starting with only one combustible gas meter, the Team has grown significantly over the past 25 plus years. Thanks to the efforts of the team members themselves, through local fundraising, and the Westmoreland County Commissioners, as well as, the Region 13 Counter Terrorism Task Force, Sara Facilities served by the team, private donations and the tax payers of the Westmoreland County, we have grown to a state-of-the-art HAZMAT Team utilizing more than a million dollars worth of equipment to serve and protect our citizens. Team 800 also responds as a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) offering specialized support to the many fire departments within the County, in the battle of structure fires. Members of Team 800 are continually and progressively involved in specialized training, which helps to maintain the abilities and capabilities of the team. This on-going education allows the Team to respond to any HAZMAT or RIT calls that may arise. Team 800 has four membership categories: Probationary, Regular, Specialty and Life. To apply for membership with Team 800, you must be resident of Westmoreland County, have a valid PA driver’s license, a high school diploma or equivalent, HAZMAT Awareness Level training, and ICS-700 training. Additionally, applicants must meet one of the following: PA Certified FF1, PA EMT or Paramedic, or work as an officer for a Pennsylvania law enforcement agency. Applicants who meet those requirements and are accepted to the Team will serve a probationary period of one year. During that year, a probationary member must attend 30% of all training, calls and meetings, complete ICS-100 training, and complete training at the HAZMAT Operations Level. Specialty members offer support to the Team in a specific field or specialty (radiation, communication, chemist, etc.). Life members are those members on the Team who have served for 25 years, or who have served 10 years and are over 65 years of age. Parties interested in joining Westmoreland County Hazardous Materials Response Team 800 can download an application in the “Files” section of the website.
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